News - TracesOfWar.com

2Nov

Postal artifacts provide a vibrant testament to the experiences of the Dutch people during WWII

On Saturday, Nov. 9, the Arnhem Open Air Museum will present the exhibition ‘The Battle of Arnhem - September 17-25, 1944: False Hope and Lasting Thanks’ by the Arnhem Postal History Project. This exhibition, curated by Tim Gale and Kees Adema, is based on an extensive collection from World War II. We asked Tim Gale some questions by e-mail about the collection and the exhibition.

What is The Arnhem Postal History Collection and Digital Archives (APH) and what’s your connection to it?

12Oct

DigitalBattlefieldTours unlocks military tactics to a wide audience

[TRANSLATED BY: Simon van der Meulen] Ivo van der Spoel is the creator of documentaries covering the military history of World War II. His YouTube channel is called DigitalBattlefieldTours. In his videos, viewers are taken to locations where actual battlefield events took place, such as Operation Market Garden. Having 65,000 subscribers and attracting up to a million viewers per video, he caters for a broad public. TracesofWar.com interviewed him through e-mail to find out more about his channel and what motivates him.

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20Dec

Christmas and New Year message from our volunteers

The TracesOfWar team wishes you a merry Christmas and a prosperous 2025!

26Nov

New book: Righteous Behind Barbed Wire

Righteous behind Barbed Wire is the latest book written by TracesOfWar volunteer Kevin Prenger. It was published in November 2024 and is available through Amazon and others.

11Oct

Lily Ebert, Holocaust Survivor, Author and TikTok Star, Dies at 100

She survived Auschwitz, wrote a best-selling memoir, “Lily’s Promise,” and spoke to a following of 2 million fans on TikTok.

She was born Lívia Engelman into an Orthodox Jewish family in Bonyhád, Hungary, on December 29 1923, one of six children of Ahron, who sold textiles, and Nina, née Bresnitz. It was an idyllic childhood, she said, though her father died when she was 18.

4Oct

Commemoration 7th Battalion the Hampshire regiment

After the Battle of Arnhem was lost on September 1944, the battle south of the Rhine on 'The Island' continued. There are several monuments to the British and American units that suffered major losses. The commemoration for the 7th battalion of the Hampshire Regiment was on October 4 2024.

3Oct

Discover the story of the V-weapons

Unique exhibition 'V-weapons' in the Memory Freedom Museum in Nijverdal is open .

The Memory Freedom Museum in Nijverdal is proud to present the unique exhibition 'V-weapons', which was opened on Thursday 26 September by Mr. Peter Wijninga (on the left side of the picture), affiliated with the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS). Mr. Koen Palinckx (on the right side of the picture), District Mayor of Ekeren, City of Antwerp, also made a contribution and spoke about Antwerp under the V-bombs. For the first time in the Netherlands, this exhibition pays extensive attention to the development, use and consequences of the German V-weapons during the Second World War.

A Historical Look Back .

In the summer of 1944, the German army began deploying the dreaded V1 and V2 weapons. These flying bombs and missiles were a technical tour de force at the time, but caused many casualties and great material damage, especially in the cities of London and Antwerp. The Netherlands was not spared either; There were many casualties as a result of failed launches and premature explosions.

Hellendoorn in the spotlight .

The municipality of Hellendoorn plays a special role in this history. It is the only municipality in the Netherlands where both the V1 and V2 were launched. The first V2 was launched here on 16 November 1944, followed by the first V1 a month later. The exhibition not only shows the technical and historical aspects of these weapons, but also highlights personal stories of eyewitnesses. For example, there is an impressive scene about the espionage committed by local resistance groups, but also about Twente residents who spied in Germany in Peenemünde.

Reconstruction V1 Wilp.

A special part of this exhibition are the remains of a V1, excavated in March 2020 next to the A1 near Wilp (near Deventer). These have been incorporated into a full-size wooden reconstruction of a V1, complete with wings.

From V2 into space .

The exhibition also focuses on the post-war development of rocket technology, which built on the V2. This includes the Apollo 11 moon landing and the rise of modern drones and unmanned aircraft. In this way, the exhibition offers a complete picture of the influence of the V-weapons on both history and modern technology.

Addition to the permanent exhibition.

'V-weapons' is a valuable addition to the permanent exhibition of the Memory Freedom Museum. The museum tells the story of the Second World War, the defence of the Netherlands against the enemy, five years of occupation and oppression, and the sacrifices of foreign soldiers for our freedom. The museum invites you to reflect on your role and influence on freedom, both for yourself and for others, and what freedom means now.

Visitor information.

The exhibition 'V-weapons' is open to the public from Friday 27 September 2024 to Sunday 28 September 2025 and can be seen in the Memory Freedom Museum. The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 12:00 to 17:00 and is located at Grotestraat 13 in Nijverdal.

2Oct

Photo report interment of ashes Arnhem veterans

At the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Oosterbeek, also called the Airborne Cemetery, veterans of the Battle of Arnhem can have their ashes interred after their death. On Friday, September 20, 2024, there were solemn ceremonies in which the ashes of Bill Williams of the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment and of Joe Mawdsley of the 1 Border Regiment were interred.

1Oct

Photo report Commemoration Glider pilots memorial Wolfheze

About half of the soldiers of the British 1st Airborne Division who fought in the Battle of Arnhem were paratroopers. The remaining men came by glider. These gliders were flown by Glider Pilots. These were well-trained soldiers who fought after the landing, including defending the perimeter in Oosterbeek. The Glider Pilots of the Battle of Arnhem suffered heavy losses. It was therefore good that a memorial for their regiment was unveiled at the Glider Landmark in Wolfheze in 2019. A commemoration was held here on Friday, September 20, 2024.

1Oct

Photo report Airborne commemoration Arnhem West 2024

1Oct

Photo report commemorating commandos at the grave of August Bakhuis-Roozeboom

Every year, Dutch commandos hold a short commemoration at the grave of August Bakhuis-Roozeboom at the Airborne cemetery in Oosterbeek. Commando Bakhuis Roozeboom of No. 2 (Dutch) Troop was one of twelve Dutch commandos attached to the British 1st Airborne Division during the Battle of Arnhem. On September 19, 1944, Bakhuis-Roozeboom was killed when the Jeep he was in was struck at Oosterbeek Laag station.

26Sep

Silent March White Ribbon Mile

On the night of September 25 to 26, 1944, the men of the 1st British Airborne Division crossed the Rhine from the perimeter in Oosterbeek. The wounded must be left behind. After nine days of fighting, this ended the Battle of Arnhem.

25Sep

Photo report unveiling memorial plaque Albert Willingham

On September 20, 2024, a plaque was unveiled at the house at Annastraat 2 in Oosterbeek in memory of soldier Albert Willingham. On September 20 and 21 1944, this house was the headquarters of the 10th battalion of the Parachute Regiment that defended this part of the Oosterbeek perimeter. Civilians and soldiers took shelter in the basement. When a German soldier threw a hand grenade into the cellar, soldier Albert Willingham protected the civilians by shielding them by standing in front of the hand grenade. Albert was killed and was buried shortly afterwards in the garden of this house. After the war he was reburied at the Airborne cemetery in Oosterbeek.

25Sep

Photo report Airborne commemoration Air Despatch Memorial Oosterbeek

25Sep

Photo report Airborne commemoration Arnhem West

22Sep

Photo report Airborne Memorial Service Oosterbeek

The Airborne Memorial Service was held this morning at the Airborne Cemetery in Oosterbeek. It was very busy because of the 80th anniversary, the nice weather and the royal visit of Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal from England.

21Sep

Photo Report Airborne Landing and Commemoration

18Sep

Photo Report Two funerals at the Airborne Cemetery in Oosterbeek

On Wednesday, September 18, 2024, two soldiers who fought during the Battle of Arnhem were buried at the Airborne cemetery in Oosterbeek: Private Moon and Lieutenant Anderson. Two British soldiers were buried with military honors in Oosterbeek 80 years after they went missing.

17Sep

Photo Report Airborne Commemoration Oosterbeek

On the morning of September 17, the annual commemoration took place at the Needle memorial in Oosterbeek. It is exactly 80 years ago that the first Airborne soldiers landed on Dutch soil for Operation Market Garden. Due to the anniversary year, there are more events and significantly more visitors are expected.

17Sep

Photo report Airborne Commemoration Heelsum 17 September 2024

25Aug

Researching his father’s WWII history became a passion for Steve Snyder

On February 8,1944 a B-17 ‘Susan Ruth’ was knocked out of the sky by German fighters over the French/Belgian border. Some men died. Some were captured and became prisoners of war. Some men evaded capture and were missing in action for months before making it back to England. Pilot Howard Snyder survived and was hidden by Belgian citizens before joining the French resistance. His son, Steve, has written a book about his father and the other crew members, titled Shot Down. We asked him some questions by e-mail about his book and further activities in relation to the legacy of his father and his crew.

The crew of the 'Susan Ruth'. Source: Steve Snyder, Shot down

What kind of man was your father? In your youth, did he tell you about his war experiences?

My father was a big guy (for the time at 6' 2½) and a rugged, no-nonsense guy. He was a strong Christian with strict morals and viewed things as black and white. My sisters and I compared him to John Wayne. He was a loving husband and father, and we had a wonderful relationship and were very close.

Like most WWII veterans, he didn’t talk a lot about the war until 1989. The Belgian-American Foundation erected a memorial to my dad and his crew in Maquenoise, Belgium near the French border near where his B-17 came down. He and the other three members of his crew who were still alive and their wives attended the dedication ceremonies. There, he was reunited with Belgian people who hid him from the Germans and revisited places where he was hidden. The memories all came back, and he started talking about it. Five years later in 1994, I made my first trip to Belgium when my wife and I accompanied my parents to attend ceremonies for the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Belgium and my dad’s plane being shot down. That’s when it became personal for me.

11Aug

Who was the owner of the photo album from Dachau?

Bruce Sadler's father was a soldier in the US Army during World War II. He was active in the European Theatre of Operations and brought back from Germany a photo album that currently puzzles his son. Who was the original owner and how did it end up in the location where his father found it? The search caught our attention and we asked Bruce Sadler some questions about it via e-mail. The photos can be viewed on Flickr.

7Jul

The British people welcomed African American servicemen with open arms

‘Black Yanks’, written by Kate Werran, is the story of how Leroy Henry, an African American soldier from Missouri, ended up on death row in D-Day Britain – and the extraordinary campaign that set him free. It unravels one of the earliest successes of the British Civil Rights Movement and re-examines the UK and USA's 'special relationship' in the build up to D-Day, 6 June 1944. Kate Werran unearths archival material to reveal the story behind the first significant – if uncelebrated – win in the civil rights movement. We asked her some questions by e-mail about her book that was published April 2024.

3Jun

Photo Report Standing with Giants British Normandy Memorial

The British Normandy Memorial inaugurated on June 6, 2019, the 75th anniversary of D-Day, can be found just outside the village of Ver-sur-Mer. From this spot one overlooks Gold Beach, one of the two beaches where British troops landed on June 6, 1944 (D-Day). On the columns of the memorial are listed the names of 22,442 British- and British-commissioned soldiers who fell in Normandy between June 6 and August 31, 1944.

2Jun

"There seems to never be an end to cool historic places to cover"

‘Walk with History’ is a popular YouTube channel run by married couple Jenn and Scott. Jenn is a historian and former Navy pilot with a Master’s Degree in American History and a certificate in Museum Studies, while Scott, a Navy officer, produces the videos and podcasts for ‘Walk with History’ and ‘Talk with History’. We’ve emailed them several questions about their social media activities and they were kind enough to answer them for us.